Storytelling Organizational Practices - Practical Methods for Futuring

In this review of Storytelling Organizational Practices the bottom line is clear: this book is for practitioners and scholars who want methods to study how organizations narrate both past and future. David M. Boje shifts storytelling from collecting past anecdotes into an active practice of "re-storying" and storytelling the future, offering new interviewing and observation approaches that help groups surface diverse voices. If you need a thoughtful, method-focused text about narrative inquiry and organizational change, this review recommends this title for its conceptual clarity and applied orientation.

Key Features

• Methodological focus: Presents new ways to frame interview questions that elicit narratives about possible futures rather than only recounting the past.
• Practice-oriented: Offers observation strategies designed to capture how groups negotiate history and emerging futures in everyday organizational life.
• Inclusive perspective: Emphasizes diversity of voices so researchers can avoid a single-teller view and document plural narratives within organizations.
• Theoretical development: Reframes storytelling practice from soundbite pitches to processes that prompt re-storying and organizational reflexivity.
• Research tools: Supplies concrete prompts and observational lenses useful for qualitative studies and practitioner inquiry.

Who It's For

This book is aimed at organizational researchers, qualitative methodologists, and managers interested in narrative inquiry and change work. It suits those who conduct interviews, ethnographic observation, or workshops and want concrete ways to surface emerging futures through narrative practice.

Practitioners seeking a quick how-to checklist for communication tactics or those expecting a step-by-step corporate training manual should look elsewhere; this title is more conceptual and method-driven than a plug-and-play communications playbook.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Provides a clear shift from traditional storytelling to futuring methods that help reframe organizational history and expectations.
• Focuses on diverse voices, making it useful for inclusive research designs and group facilitation.
• Supplies concrete interview and observation approaches that are applicable in qualitative research projects.

Cons

• Not a quick reference manual for corporate communicators; readers seeking brief tactical templates may find the approach more conceptual than procedural.

Specifications

Title	Storytelling Organizational Practices
Author	David M. Boje
Focus	Methods for storytelling the future and re-storying the past
Audience	Organizational researchers, methodologists, practitioners
Approach	Interview questions and observational practices for narrative inquiry
Perspective	Diversity of voices and group negotiation of narrative

Our Verdict

Storytelling Organizational Practices is a thoughtful, method-rich resource for anyone researching or facilitating organizational narratives. Its value lies in reframing storytelling as a practical way to surface futures and re-story pasts, making it good value for qualitative researchers and reflective practitioners who need new tools for narrative inquiry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this book provide interview templates?
Answer. It provides new ways to ask questions and practical prompts rather than rigid templates, suitable for adapting to specific research contexts.

Is it suitable for managers?
Answer. Yes, managers involved in change work or organizational learning will find useful methods, though it is more scholarly than a hands-on corporate guide.

Does it address diversity in storytelling?
Answer. Yes, a core emphasis is on capturing a diversity of voices rather than a single narrative teller.